McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, sent an email out to supporters, which said, "As you and I know, simply attracting large crowds of fans with empty rhetoric doesn't prepare a person to lead a country. The more we get to know the real Barack Obama, the more he shows that he is not ready to lead our country."

Character, when trying to obtain the most powerful office in the United states, is just as important as policy issues because that is a person that represents the country to the world and although Obama was largely an unknown entity before this campaign season, thanks to the media fawning all over him, he is not unknown any longer.

The American people now know that he can speak well, but they also know that he changes his mind on the turn of a dime even to the point of angering his most ardent base (think FISA here), he speaks without thinking then claims that he "phrased" things badly and didn't really mean his words they way they came out (think undivided Jerusalem here), his associations (think Wright, Rezko, Meeks, Pfleger, Ayers....etc) have been scrutinized almost as strongly as Britney's lack of wearing underwear was.

Scrutiny is a good thing and the information obtained from that scrutiny is what has happened to that mojo that Andrew asks about.

Barack Obama has become a prima donna, criticisms and pointing out his character flaws is automatically a "smear" in his and his supporters minds and mentioning his complete inexperience is considered racism because they cannot counter the argument, screaming racism is the best they can do. It is Obama himself and his supporters that bring race into every argument.

1. Proposed bill to change Oklahoma to "Oklobama" 2. Offered Bush 20 bucks for the "Mission Accomplished" banner 3. Asked guy at Staples, "Which chair will work best in an oval-shaped office?" 4. The affair with Barbara Walters 5. Having head measured for Mount Rushmore 6. Guy sits around eating soup all day 7. He's voting for Nader 8. Offered McCain a job in gift shop at Obama Presidential Library 9. Announced his running mate will be Andy Dick 10. Been cruising for chicks with John Edwards

The problem with The Politico's headline though is that it wasn't the GOP's message, it was Obama's message, the GOP just pointed it out.

It was Obama that decided to change venues for the last day of the DNC convention to a "larger" stadium for a bigger audience. It was Obama that decided to take a full media entourage on his overseas "fact finding" trip, it was Obama that decided to speak to tens of thousands of non American voters in Berlin, Germany. It was Obama that declared"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

Obama and his campaign, with his supporters are the ones that made the "celebrity" message resonate and now they are whining that the McCain campaign noticed it and highlighted it?

Obama is now being laughed at by comedians and audiences across the spectrum, just as Britney was when she was caught without underwear and when she shaved her head, just as Paris was when that video surfaced.

That is the problem when you try to become a celebrity, it works, it gets noticed and it gets spoken about.

[Update] How well is the message resonating, might find a hint in the latest poll numbers, discussed over at Hot Air.